The GLEAVES-class (DD-423) destroyers were almost identical to their near
sisters of the BENSON class (DD-421), and together they were often referred to
as the BENSON/GLEAVES class. About the only external feature by which they
could be distinguished was the shape of their stacks; the GLEAVES class had
round stacks, and the BENSONs' stacks were flat-sided. The difference was the
result of the work of naval architects at two different design firms. Gibbs
& Cox designed the GLEAVES class, which was built in various navy and
private shipyards. Bethlehem Steel designed the BENSONs, built only in that
company's shipyards.

An improvement on the SIMS class, which preceded them, the new destroyers were
built on the same basic hull design. They introduced a new machinery
arrangement, however, that featured alternating boiler and engine rooms
calculated to give the ships a better chance at surviving torpedo damage. Their
scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the
new machinery, which in turn increased the GLEAVES's displacement by about
sixty tons. As originally designed the class had the following characteristics:

The topside arrangement of the GLEAVES class was similar to that of the SIMS
class, but instead of one stack they had two because of the new machinery
arrangement. A notable feature of the BENSONs and the early ships of the
GLEAVES class was the streamlining of their bridge, superstructure, and deck
edges forward, which were subjected to considerable windage, especially at high
speeds. The rounded bridge became a flat-sided design in later units of the
GLEAVES class beginning with the DAVIDSON (DD-618). The height of the Mark 37
director barbette also was lessened so that it was only slightly above the top
of the bridge, thus eliminating a considerable amount of weight high in the
superstructure. The ships of the GLEAVES-class were the last U.S. Navy
destroyers designed with a raised forecastle deck.

Five 5-inch/38 caliber single gun mounts, two located forward and three aft,
were the original main armament of the class. The two mounts on the after
superstructure deck were open mounts separated by a deckhouse that served as a
shelter for the gun crews. A 36-in. searchlight was mounted atop the shelter.
Soon after the war began, the number-three mount was removed and replaced with
two twin 40-mm gun mounts. Number-four mount was given a half shield to save
weight. Unlike the other mounts, it lacked roof plates. To protect the gun crew
from the elements, the designers added a simple framework with a canvas top
fitted as a roof for the mount.

Fitted to port and starboard of the centerline were two twin 40-mm gun mounts,
which replaced the number three 5-inch gun mount. The deckhouse shelter was
removed, and the searchlight was remounted on a short platform just forward of
the 40-mm mounts. The .50 caliber machine guns were replaced with four single
20-mm gun mounts; two located forward on each side of the bridge and two
amidships on each side of the second stack.

The BENSON/GLEAVES class also introduced the 21-inch quintuple torpedo tube
mount, which became the standard for all subsequent U.S. Navy destroyers built
during World War II. Originally, the men operating the after set of tubes were
shielded from the blast of the number three 5-inch gun by a circular enclosure.
When the number three gun was removed, the shield on the torpedo tubes was also
removed.

Editor's Note: Some references identify the BENSON-GLEAVES class as the
BENSON-LIVERMORE class. This was a designation for the FY 38-destroyer
procurement coined by popular writers in compiling a number of fleet handbooks,
for example James C. Fahey's The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet,
volumes 1-4, 1939-45. Some handbooks further split the class, adding the
BRISTOL (DD-453) as yet another division. According to tradition, however, a
class is identified by the lead ship; hence BENSON-GLEAVES is the proper
designation for this group of destroyers